The Hedge Fund team got the better
of Private Equity for the second straight year in a charity
basketball game that has raised more than $4 million for youth
programs in New York City.

The 13th annual Net Gain Tournament was held last night at New York University and the 20-team, round-robin event tipped
off with a Wall Street showdown between hedge-fund managers and
private-equity executives.

“That’s the way it should be,” said Platek, who wakes up
at 4:30 a.m. almost every day to play basketball in Manhattan
before heading to his Fifth Avenue office. “Private equity has
been making all the money for years, we should finally get the
victories.”

The annual charity tournament helps pay for court time for
17 high schools and 400 New York City students who don’t have a
place to play basketball. The event is hosted by Youth I.N.C.
(Improving Nonprofits for Children), which was founded 17 years
ago by Steve Orr, a former investment banker at Goldman Sachs
Group Inc. (GS)

“I’ve used all my contacts to convince those around me in
the financial industries to get involved,” Orr, who left
Goldman Sachs in 1991, said in a courtside interview at NYU’s
Coles Sports Center. “I’d say 90 percent of our support at
Youth I.N.C. comes from the financial industry.”

‘Old and Rusty’

Orr promised the Hedge Fund vs. Private Equity clash would
showcase “complete trash talk” and “terrible players” having
a lot of fun. The 15-minute, full-court game was indeed a low-
scoring affair, with more turnovers and miscues than successful
jump shots.

The Private Equity squad pulled within 12-10 with about a
minute and a half remaining on a baseline jumper by team captain
Ted Virtue, founder and chief executive of MidOcean Partners.
The Hedge Fund team responded with a layup at the other end and
pulled out a 14-12 victory.

“We just couldn’t get it to drop,” Virtue said in an
interview after the game. “We’re old and rusty.”

Private Equity probably could have used the services of
Ronald Blaylock, co-founder of GenNx360 Capital Partners and a
one-time teammate of ex-Knick Patrick Ewing during his playing
days at Georgetown University.

Blaylock, 50, a co-chairman of the Net Gain Tournament who
had to sit out last night’s game because of an injury, was on
hand to cheer on his Private Equity teammates.

‘Venture Philanthropy’

“It’s a fun game and it generates some buzz,” Blaylock
said just before tipoff. “So many youth are underserved in New
York City and anything that helps these organizations grow and
develop is almost what we call venture philanthropy. It’s like a
venture capital model.”

Starks was among a group of Knicks alumni to help coach the
players and interact with the kids competing in the tournament.
Charles Smith, John Wallace and Mel Davis were also in
attendance, joined by 175 members of the Wall Street community,
organizers said.

The Hedge Fund squad retained the trophy it first won last
year and evened the 4-year-old rivalry at two games apiece.
After the contest, participants already were looking ahead to
next year, when they’ll again get to trade wingtip shoes for
high-tops.

“It was still a good, competitive game,” Virtue said.
“We’ll get them next year.”